Dinner with the Folks

by RK_Striker_JK_5

Chapter Four

It was some time before Lyra found herself trotting back to the Confectionarium. The rain had stopped and a natural rainbow had formed, bringing a smile to her face. Her saddlebags jingled with bits and jangles she had earned from her busking. She approached the front of the candy store, sweat beginning to form on her brow. “Hi, Bonbon. Want your parents to get together with my parents to discuss our future together in something that will surely blow up?” She let out a sigh. “This isn't gonna go well.”

She walked up to the front door, leaning to her left and peering in the front window. She spied her beloved Bonnie waiting on a few customers and breathed a sigh of relief. That breath was short-lived, however, as Bonbon spied her and waved a hoof. Lyra returned the wave, chuckling slightly. “Oh, what am I thinking? This'll work out fine for all of us!”

She marched through the front door, head held high. Lyra waved a hoof at the customers, her smile somehow stretching even farther as they waved back. Within seconds she rounded the corner of the Confectionarium's main sales counter and sidled up to Bonbon. “Hello,” she purred out, batting her eyes at her love.

Bonbon glanced at her out of the corner of her eyes. “Hello.” She looked back at her customers and passed over some bits and jangles. “Here's your change.”

The two ponies took the change, blushing slightly before saying their goodbyes, turning tail and trotting out. Bonbon turned to Lyra, sighing. “You could rein it back a bit while I've got customers,” she remarked.

Lyra shrugged and rolled her eyes. “Expressions of affection and love should never be hidden!” she proclaimed, throwing out a foreleg.

Bonbon stared at her and quirked an eyebrow. “Okay, out with it. What did you talk about with Davenport and/or Tin during lunch?”

The mint-green unicorn gasped and held a foreleg to her chest. “Why Bonbon, whatever do you... alright. Dad and Pop asked about us.”

“'Us'?”

Lyra nodded, glancing to the door to confirm no one would enter at the moment. She looked back to her Bonnie. “Well they asked about our relationship, how things were going, progress on how things were going. Pop even asked how your mom and dad were doing and... whether they'd be available to get together for dinner,” she said, the last part coming out in a single breath.

Bonbon blinked. “Dinner together? The six of us?” She cocked her head to the side, glancing away in thought. “And our relationship...” Her voice trailed off and she turned to look at the back wall. “What about it?”

Lyra nickered slightly. “Like I said, how it's going, progress on how it's going.” She cocked her head to the side. “I mean it's not exactly a big deal, you know? Just a little sit-down dinner, talking about us and them.”

Bonbon slowly turned back to face Lyra, her right eyebrow quirking up slightly. “You have met my mother, right?”

Lyra's eyes slowly widened...

---

Giant carrots marched through Ponyville, spewing caramel all over the streets. Stalks of broccoli flew through the air, shadowing the town below. And on a throne made of rock candy, Honeydew sat, hooves pressed together in front of her bespectacled eyes.

Luna stood on the edge of Ponyville, the Royal Guard around her being overrun by the candy/vegetable hybridized abominations. She turned around, spotting Celestia behind her. “Sister, I'll give you the throne if you help me!”

Celestia's eyes shifted from Luna to the Honeydew's army. She shook her head and waved her younger sister off. “I say thee neigh, Luna. Your subjects are crazy!” And with that she turned and flew off into the sky...

---

Bonbon waved a hoof in front of Lyra's face. “Lyra? Lyra!” She leaned in, pushed up on Lyra's right ear and shouted, “LYRA!” into it.

The unicorn hopped a half-foot into the air, mane flying out in all directions. “YEARGH!” she shouted, landing heavily on her hooves. “Bonbon, don't DO that!” she shouted, turning and glaring at her marefriend.

Bonbon returned the glare. “Well, don't space out on me like that!” She let out a sigh. “No, I'm sorry for snapping like that.”

Lyra waved her off. “I'm sorry for spacing out like a foal.”

Bonbon smiled, leaned over and kissed Lyra on the cheek. “Apology accepted. And you know what? I think having our folks sit down for dinner with us really is a great idea. Honestly, besides when you and Trixie came back from Canterlot I can't really remember the last time they had any real conversation.”

Lyra's jaw canted slightly and she crossed one foreleg in front of the other. “Yeah. Pop did some renovations for Roseluck and got a big lifetime discount on their product. So they just don't go to Curry's shop all that often, if at all. As for your mother...”

Bonbon attempted a glare, but it quickly fell away and she shrugged. “Point taken,” she admitted. She let out a small bark of laughter. “I ran into Trixie and we both went into Dad's shop.” She glanced around the Confectionarium before leaning in close. “I didn't let her know I knew about last night, but I did make sure Dad gave her a discount for her groceries.”

Lyra grinned. “Sounds like you two might just hit it off after all,” she said, winking.

Bonbon shrugged. “Possibly. Although Mom actually managed to freak Trixie out a bit. Can you believe it?! I thought with how dramatic Trixie acts they'd get along like two peas in a pod. Admittedly Mom was acting a bit weird even for her.” She rolled her eyes, but suddenly turned as the shop's door opened and a pair of ponies walked in. “May I help you?”

Lyra's right eye twitched slightly as Bonbon turned away from her. 'Bit weird for her',” she muttered under her breath. Her gaze turned slightly glassy...

---

Honeydew sat upon her throne throne, giggles shaking her body. She suddenly hopped off and a candy cane-striped cane floated over to her. She twirled it about and began dancing and singing:

“Who can make caramel, pour it into jars?

“Who can use taffy to pull down the stars? The CANDY MARE CAN!”

---

“Lyra? LYRA!”

Lyra started, blinking rapidly. She turned to find Bonbon approximately a half-inch from her face, causing her to canter back. “Yes!” she blurted out, stopping just short of ramming shoulder-first into the back wall.

Bonbon's eyes narrowed. “And just what are you saying 'yes' to?” she asked.

There was a pause before Lyra finally lowered her head, her horn almost parallel to the floor. “I have no idea,” she confessed. Her head suddenly rose. “Wait. How long was I daydreaming? You had two customers who just walked in.”

“I took care of them, then turned back to you, told you I'd go see Mom and Dad tomorrow then and asked if you could go see your fathers tomorrow and ask them when it'd be good for them to have dinner with my parents and us. And you were standing there staring off into space. Again.”

Lyra slowly nodded. “Oh... sure!” She nodded rapidly, her head bobbing up and down. “Not a problem, my dear Bonnie!” She tapped her chest with a hoof. “I'll go see them early in the morning before my busking in the park. Quills and Sofas shouldn't be busy and Pop should still be home.”

Bonbon nodded, smiling. “And I'll see Mom and Dad at lunchtime.” Her brow wrinkled slightly and her muzzle scrunched up. “You know... always did wonder why Davenport named that shop 'Quills and Sofas'. He's got an entire furniture and stationary store crammed in there, after all.”

“It's a lot shorter than 'Furniture and Stationary Store in one Location', at least.”

---

The Next Day
Lyra kept a steady gait up as she trotted to her fathers' store and house. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon and she bit down, stifling a yawn. She slowed down as she approached the front door and peeked in, spying both Davenport and Tin Taylor there in the main showroom. She waved at them, tempo increasing as they failed to notice them. “Hey, hey!” she shouted, finally gaining their attention. The door opened and she walked in. “Hi!”

Davenport snorted as he and Davenport walked over to the chair. He waited for her to walk over before speaking. “It's a little early for a visit,” he observed.

Lyra paused for a moment. “I told Bonbon about your idea for dinner with her parents, and she's all for it. I just wanted to come over real quick and see what's best for you.”

Davenport and Tin exchanged a glance. “I've got a doctor's appointment this Saturday,” Tin said. He tapped his horn. “The doc thinks with two or three more sessions I should be past my head injury and back to normal.”

Lyra grinned. “That's great, Pop! So, not Saturday... Sunday?”

Tin glanced to the ceiling. “I've got nothing going on then.” He looked to Davenport. “Anything with you, Davey?”

Davenport shook his head. “Not a thing, Tinny.” He looked to Lyra. “Sunday would be fine for us, although really any evening would be fine for us.”

"Although we should write Skyla and let her know about this," Tin said, referring to Lyra's surrogate mother. "It wouldn't be right to leave the old gal out."

Both Lyra and Davenport nodded. "I'll write her a letter tonight and send it to Cloudsdale," Davenport said. A smile drifted across his face. "Been too long since we've seen her, anyway."

Lyra let out a breath. “Thanks, Dad. Thanks, Pop. I know you got work to do, so I'll head off.” She hugged the two before leaving the store.

Davenport and Tin watched her go, waving after her. “Did she seem a bit nervous?” Davenport asked his husband.

Tin shook his head after a minute. “A little, but it's understandable. Big decisions coming up in her future, after all. But she should be fine. She's our daughter, after all.”

---

Bonbon walked into Curry's Comestibles, spying Curry at the counter and cashing out Mayor Ivory Scroll. She nodded to the mayor as she left before looking to her father. “Dad, is Mom around? I've got something I'd like to ask you two.”

Curry's mustache twitched. “Downstairs, dear.” His eyes narrowed slightly behind the thick lenses of his glasses. “What about?”

“Lyra's parents want to have dinner with all of us together, and Lyra and I think it's a good idea,” Bonbon replied. “So I was wondering when a good time would be for–“

The back door slammed open and Honeydew emerged, frowning. “Not right, not right,” she muttered, shaking her head and tossing her mane back and forth. “It's not right at all.”

Bonbon walked over to her. Curry turned a sign hanging on the door to 'closed' before walking over to his wife. Honeydew glanced from side to side at the two. “It's just not right. I don't know where I went wrong. But I always do.”

Curry leaned in and nuzzled his wife. “You will, dear. You always get it in the end.”

Honeydew returned the nuzzle. “Thank you. I just... I had it. I could see my vision coming true. And then it slipped through my hooves, like it always does.”

Bonbon leaned in close to her mother. “Taffy fell apart?”

Honeydew shook her head. “The caramel disintegrated and the alfalfa turned to goo.” She blinked and regarded Bonbon. “And what brings you here?”

Bonbon cleared her throat. “Well, Lyra and I were wondering when a good time would be for you two to have dinner with us and Lyra's parents. You four don't really know each other that well, despite being lifelong Ponyville residents. And with us renewing our relationship we thought it'd be a good idea for everypony to get together for a little dinner, you know? So I was wondering what a good date for you would be.”

Honeydew slowly nodded. She looked to Curry. “We're free this weekend, right? My big experiment isn't quite ready yet, after all. And you usually close the shop on Sunday's for housekeeping.”

Curry nodded, then looked to Bonbon. “Tell them the weekend would be fine, Bonbon. Details can come later.”

Bonbon smiled. She hugged Honeydew, then Curry. “Thanks. You're the best.”

All three turned at a gentle rapping coming from the door. They turned and saw a half-dozen ponies standing there. Bonbon glanced to the clock. “Oh, right. Lunchtime.” She trotted to the door, flipped the sign to 'open' and opened the door. “Talk to you later!”

Curry and Honeydew waved after her. “Did she seem a bit nervous to you?” Honeydew asked, twitching slightly.

Curry shook his head as he moved back to his counter. “It's understandable. Big changes, after all. But she'll be fine. She's our daughter, after all.”

Comments

[Kage no Brony]

Aha, Aha ha ha...

This couldn't possibly be preparing to explode in a volatile mess of defecation and electric oscillation devices.

[dmgtitan]

ITS ALIVE!

[Walabio]

¿Does Lyra Heartstrings think about Skyla as her mother or not as a relative? I notice that you do not steer her into the oncoming disaster.

[ShadowLDrago]

This is going to go oh so hilariously wrong, guess it just makes it all the more entertaining for us.

[kryshunter]

3826811 you've been reading Empowered. And yes, yes it will.

[General Lemarc]

Giant carrots marched through Ponyville, spewing caramel all over the streets. Stalks of broccoli flew through the air, shadowing the town below. And on a throne made of rock candy, Honeydew sat, hooves pressed together in front of her bespectacled eyes.
Luna stood on the edge of Ponyville, the Royal Guard around her being overrun by the candy/vegetable hybridized abominations. She turned around, spotting Celestia behind her. “Sister, I'll give you the throne if you help me!”
Celestia's eyes shifted from Luna to the Honeydew's army. She shook her head and waved her younger sister off. “I say thee neigh, Luna. Your subjects are crazy!” And with that she turned and flew off into the sky...

Its been a long time since I've laughed myself to tears